The Benetton empire is betting on honesty in new documentary “Benetton Formula,” depicting the fashion brand’s involvement in Formula 1. It’s available on Sky and NOW in both Italy and the U.K.
“In today’s world, it makes no sense not to be transparent. Especially when you have the privilege of knowing you’ve always been right,” said Alessandro Benetton, reflecting on the 1994 cheating accusations also addressed in the doc. Michael Schumacher won the Driver’s Championship that year.
“To a certain extent, it was a way of intimidating us and saying: ‘You don’t belong here.’ But we wanted to dream big.”
Conceived by the production company Slim Dogs in collaboration with Sky, “Benetton Formula” recounts the rise of a team nobody saw coming.
“At first, we were ‘the funny guys’ who made the best pasta in the paddock. We were the underdogs, but we also had the courage to make radical changes,” noted Benetton, who has served as Chairman of Edizione, one of Europe’s largest holding companies, since 2022.
In his early career, he became the youngest-ever president of a Benetton Formula team, taking the role at just over 25 years old.
“Everyone wants to win, but they were also selling Formula 1 as this highly sophisticated engineering world. The idea that someone from outside the industry – someone who was making sweaters – could actually compete was perceived as a threat to the credibility of this system.”
Despite many successes, the company’s venture into Formula 1 needs to be re-introduced to new generations. According to Alessandro Benetton, there were at least “three reasons” to make the doc right now.
First, it’s the 60th anniversary of the company – Benetton Group was founded in 1965 – and the 30th anniversary of the 1995 Formula One World Championship. That year, Schumacher won his second consecutive Drivers’ Championship and Benetton won the Constructors’ Championship.
“The third reason, which is perhaps less obvious, is that I joined the family business five years ago. Since then, we’ve changed 80% of the management and 75% of our activities. At the same time, however, we wanted to maintain some of our values.”
The company continues to apply the “Benetton formula” to other areas as well.
“We’re really trying to take advantage of this moment in our history. We can find a new balance and become more inclusive and sustainable. But, to do that, you need to be disruptive. You need to break the models we have been living with for decades.”
Benetton looks for inspiration everywhere: including the 2026 Winter Olympics. “Eileen Gu is a good example of how you can maximize your potential by doing more than one thing, and having the courage to make changes as an integral part of your life,” said Benetton. The Chinese-American athlete and model, Gu won three medals in Italy, becoming the most decorated Olympic freeskier ever. “That’s what we were doing 30 years ago and that’s what we are doing right now.”
Still, celebrating his company’s legacy while appealing to a broader audience was a challenge when making the film.
“That was my question, too, and my doubt. When you’re successful, you start becoming too self-referential. I didn’t want to tell a story about how ‘great’ we are, because that would turn this documentary into an ad for my family,” he said.
“We made sure to work with people who weren’t even born back then. They weren’t familiar with these names or times, but they knew what interested them. By involving them, we were learning how to appeal to a much larger audience and not just fans of Formula 1, either.”
Which is not to say said fans will be left out, as “Benetton Formula” covers some of the most tragic events in the sport’s history, including Ayrton Senna’s fatal crash in 1994.
“It was necessary [to show it]. Back then, Formula 1 felt much more like a family. It was normal to see drivers and mechanics from different teams going out for a beer or having dinner together the night before the Grand Prix. But there were also more safety issues,” recalled Benetton.
“That moment… It was very hard for everybody. Senna was the best, so every driver thought: ‘If it could happen to him, it could happen to me.’ It was one of the things that pushed for a real change.”
The doc allowed him to relive some of that excitement – including the “rollercoaster” that was the 1994 season – and reconnect with old friends. That includes team manager Flavio Briatore, engineering director Tom Walkinshaw, technical director Ross Brawn or chief designer Rory Byrne.
“I was fascinated by the drivers, the lights and the atmosphere. We were very direct and we were making fun of each other. It was brutal, but that’s how we lived it,” he said, also praising Schumacher.
“The first time I met him, I noticed his strong personality, maturity and determination. At the same time, it was clear that he was having fun. He loved driving. He actually loved it!”
Michael Schumacher in ‘Benetton Formula’
Courtesy of Sky
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